I can only imagine what it was like backstage at the Omaha Girls Rock (OGR) showcase moments before the night's first band, The Jellybeans, took the stage. Utter chaos? Faces gripped in panic-fear? Tears? Nervous laughter?

For most of the 24 girls who took part in the inaugural OGR band camp, it would be their first time on any stage. Many had never held an instrument before signing up. Now here they were,...

Somewhere on a sun-baked highway in Southern California drives the Senseney family. Presumably in a mini-van.

Behind the wheel is father, Chris, navigating the straight-arrow route from their home in Los Angeles to Palm Springs. His wife, Stefanie Drootin-Senseney, leans over and adjusts a strap on the car seat that holds baby Twila, age 11 months. Brother Hank, who will be 3 in September, cranes his little neck...

This week is catch-up time for a couple news items that have been simmering in the background.
First, what exactly is going on at Team Love Records, the label started by Conor Oberst and Nate Krenkel, whose roster has included Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins, Craig Wedren, Dave Dondero and Berg Sans Nipple?
Eyebrows rose when it was announced that Nik Freitas' new album, Sunday Night Underwater, was going to be...

I begin what seems like my 100th review of a Bright Eyes concert by saying that last Saturday night's performance at Westfair Amphitheater may have been his best.
Simply put, Conor Oberst put on a rock concert. Not an indie-folk show; not an "intimate acoustic evening of personal confessions." A rock concert. As heavy a show as he's probably capable of or would ever want to do. You can say you witnessed Bright Eyes...